Singapore to Deport or Charge Bus Drivers Over Walkout

Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore will deport 29 SMRT Corp.
bus drivers and is prosecuting five others in connection with
the city’s first labor protest since the 1980s.

Those facing charges could be imprisoned for as long as a
year for taking part in what was described as an “illegal
strike,” according to a statement on the government’s website.
Four were arrested Nov. 28 and Nov. 29 and have already been
charged, while the fifth will be charged on Dec. 3.

“The strike was planned and premeditated,” according to
the statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry
of Manpower. “It disrupted our public transport which is an
essential service, and posed a threat to public order.”

More than 170 bus drivers failed to report for duty on Nov.
26, while 88 halted work the following day, SMRT said. The
company said the striking workers were from China, while the
Singapore government didn’t identify their nationalities today.

The four drivers are charged with conspiring to instigate
workers employed by SMRT Buses Ltd., according to charge sheets
filed at the city’s Subordinate Court yesterday. Strikes in
Singapore are illegal for workers in essential services unless
their employers are given two weeks’ notice, according to the
Manpower Ministry.

“We will continue to actively engage all service leaders
at all levels to address their concerns holistically,” SMRT,
Singapore’s biggest subway operator and one of its two main bus
companies, said today in an e-mailed statement. SMRT calls its
bus drivers service leaders.

Telephone calls to China’s Foreign Ministry went unanswered
outside of normal business hours.

China earlier said it was “highly concerned” about the
arrest of four of its citizens by the Singapore authorities for
their role in the labor protest.